My best attempts for the week. Constructive criticism encouraged so next week's can be better.

I'm especially interested in which of the hawks shots you prefer and if there is anything special about the sunrise shot.

After sending this I'm on my way to a park I've never been to hoping to get some good photos.

Hi Florida,

This is a beautiful bird. I like your second shot best, because I think that it focuses on the animal and removes much of the environment, which is complex and somewhat distracting. In situations like this, where the surroundings are cluttered, I usually go for a closeup.

Below is a picture that I took of an owl at the Bandelier park in New Mexico. I walked all around the bird until I found the simplest background there was. Fortunately, the bird was happy to look away from that direction for a while.

You can see that even then, I decided to get quite close and also to lower myself until I was looking straight into the bird's face. I think that the direct eye-to-eye contact can add some zing to the picture...if the bird is willing to cooperate for a second!

As for sharpness, I am not an expert on that. My pictures are not super sharp, but I don't use a tripod. I travel light.